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This Church Profile overviews Kings Norton Baptist Church and its current activities.
The Chapel was founded in 1847 from two terraced houses
made into one building, on Wharf
Road , Kings Norton. At this time all baptisms took
place in the canal (few metres away). The entrance at this time faced
Wharf
Road . In 1947 the Vestry was built at the rear of the
Chapel to commemorate 100th Anniversary and to honour the Pastor, Mr
Sanders. During the 1960's the Chapel was extended with a kitchen
and cloakrooms being installed. The Chapel windows which faced
Wharf Road were
re-sized to a better proportion with a single storey building. The main entrance
moved to the back of the building, away from the
road. In 1997, a week of celebrations took place to mark 150
years of Chapel life and activity. The Lord Mayor of
Birmingham attended a
thanksgiving service and unveiled a commemorative
plaque.
The Fellowship takes a Reformed approach to its teaching, worship and work. Scripture is held to be divinely inspired and infallible. God is sovereign. (see Appendix: Doctrinal Basis). Members are required to be "born again" believers. (see Church Constitution).
Meeting at the above chapel the 10 am Sunday morning
service lasts until about 11:10. This is followed by tea and coffee
refreshments. From 11:30-12 noon there is an adult bible study looking at the Gospel of John.
Sunday morning worship is for the whole Church family
with a crèche run for babies and toddlers. At present, morning worship combines
traditional hymn singing with contemporary songs from "Mission Praise", The
Church also has "Christian Hymns" and also "Praise" introduced to the church
late in 2000. We usually have a time for open prayer. The sermon is followed on
the first Sunday morning of the month by Communion. A short talk for church
family children has traditionally been included. Each Sunday a leaflet, the
Bulletin, is produced with brief details regarding the day, events for the week
and matters for prayer. Sunday school is from 3-4 pm see
below. The Evening meeting is from 6:30-7:30 pm. This more
informal service is more focused on bringing our praise, prayer and followed by
discipleship teaching from the bible.
A mid-week fellowship meeting is at present held on
Thursday evenings 7:30-9 pm for Bible study fellowship and prayer. This is in a
member's home, the venue varies, please make
contact.
KNBC has for many years supported missionary work.
Amongst the most supported are OM, Gideons, Barnabus, a Wycliffe project in the
Cameroon and a joint BMS
missionary in Thailand and
Tunisia . It has a Birmingham City
Mission Missionary within its fellowship, who works locally in the
area.
Currently there is one Elder, Frank Williamson and one Deacon Joyce Cooke . The Elder has an overview of preaching, pastoral and evangelistic matters in general. The Deacon serves as the treasurer have the practical responsibly of looking after the church's finance.
Heart of England Baptist Assoc.
The fellowship is financially independent with the giving from Sunday Attendees and Church members covering all expenses. This includes a Church house and a minibus. Some of the income is by Gift Aid.
The Chapel is essentially an old rectangular building on one level capable of holding about eighty people. The space is flexible as chairs are used. There is a baptistry and the usual essential facilities, including a foyer and vestry, added in the sixties. In April 2001 extensive repairs have been made to the Chapel roof and wall structure.
Kings
Norton
Baptist
Church is situated just a short distance from the old
Kings Norton village on The Green, on the south-west side of
Birmingham . Kings Norton (pop.22,500 1991 census),
is accessible to open countryside.
The main railway is to the south-west, with a station for local rail, the
Birmingham-Worcester canal, and the River Rea all pass through the area, which
now spans roughly a mile in all directions from The Green. Several retirement
and nursing homes have been built in recent years. Shopping is mainly in Cotteridge and on
The Green. Several primary Schools, four secondary schools and a sixth form
college lie within the area. The parish
church of St.
Nicolas stands prominent on The Green, with three
satellite churches spread across the area.
There is a local Library and considerable area of parkland off the
Pershore
Road . The
Pershore Road is a main route into and out
of Birmingham
with frequent buses. Local
employment is largely clustered on three factory centres, including
Pilkingtons. Many residents commute
to Birmingham
centre. Kings Norton will benefit from central government funding in the shape
of the Urban Regeneration Budget and the New Deal for the Community scheme. The current housing stock will be
upgraded plus other services and amenities. Regeneration of the community will
bring many opportunities for outreach.
